This invention relates to a process and composition for the administration of choline, or natural or synthetic compounds that dissociate to form choline, along with piracetam, in order to treat human disorders by increasing actylcholine levels in brain and other tissues.
There are a number of diseases which affect acetylcholine-containing neurons in the brain or other tissues, and which are treated by drugs that cause undesired side effects by diminishing acetylcholine's release; there also exist diseases now treated by other drugs in which the potency and/or efficacy of the drugs could be improved by combining them with choline or natural or synthetic compounds that dissociate to form choline in order thereby to enhance the release of acetylcholine. Such diseases include both those primarily involving the brain (e.g., diseases of higher cortical functions; psychiatric illnesses; movement disorders) and those involving the peripheral nervous system (e.g., neuromuscular disorders). Piracetam [(oxo-2-pryyolidinyl-1)2 acetamine] reported by improved memory and learning ability in normal people and those with memory impairments. Piracetam also appears to deplete brain levels of acetylcholine and therefore impairs acetylcholine's subsequent release. When drugs, including piracetam release too much acetylcholine, they subsequently cease to function as intended and in many instances exacerbate the very adverse physical condition they are intended to treat.
It would be desirable to provide a means for alleviating piracetam's undesirable effect of depleting brain levels of acetylcholine in order to retain its efficacy after administration to a patient.